Another WW II B-17 horrific crash at least 6 souls on board - video

[marble falls]

[bucolic_frolic]

1. I'm not sure the wisdom of flying museums

[twodogsbarking]

2. Many would argue your point. Not me.

[dem4decades]

5. The one near Hartford a few years ago certainly questions that, they were having engine

problems and still took off. The Dallas one just looks like pilot error, that could have happened with any plane I'd guess.

[Simeon Salus]

3. It's now a diminishing return, isn't it?

How many flying examples existed three days ago?

Ten, according to Wikipedia.

Today?

Nine.

It's all fun and games until somebody has a stick problem with an aircraft manufactured 75 plus years ago...

[caraher]

4. OK, but this was a midair collision

Flown the same way, this crash could have happened if the two planes were fresh out of the factory. The P-63 pilot likely lost sight of the B-17 he hit.

But that isn't really a reason to continue these flights. The folks who maintain and fly the planes love what they do but show fatal lapses in judgment, and it's always just a matter of time before any given plane has it's last flight. Only when that last flight is to a museum is the airframe going to be preserved indefinitely.

[Simeon Salus]

6. I do not minimize the tragedy or the reasons; I was bemoaning the loss and its inevitability

This was a midair collision between antique (if well-maintained) planes which are the last examples of museum-grade flight-worthy profiles.

I mourn for the loss of aircrew, each of whom was competent, seasoned, able, each one of whom knew about the risks inherent in flying machines designed for a few score missions three generations ago.

I do not blame either pilot. Stuff happens when you dance with death. They sign on to that.

I mourn for the loss of the families and friends, each of whom were sure their loved one would be at the dinner table afterwards. Shock, and the horror of watching it happen, will traumatize those folks forever.

I mourn for the loss of irreplaceable airframes. They would have failed eventually.

I'd like to hope this crash stops the madness of wasting such valuable relics on momentary and vicarious thrills.

It is literally a diminishing return. We stop at some point. Why are we risking these craft and crews now?

[Irish_Dem]

7. It't time to move these vintage WWII aircraft to the US Air Force Museum.

And to other appropriate museums.

The men who flew these planes in wartime most certainly would not like the idea
of the planes being flown for recreation and killing civilians.